Matcha powder is a traditional Japanese tea known for its health benefits. Japanese researchers evaluated the antidepressant effects of matcha powder in mice and found that it activated dopaminergic neural circuits and improved depression in certain mice, depending on their previous mental state. More research like this could help develop better antidepressants.
Learn more about the antidepressant effects of matcha powder
Researchers are unraveling how matcha powder improves depression and the factors that control its effects on the psyche.
Matcha, a traditional Japanese tea, has been touted for its health benefits. It can improve mood and mental performance in both humans and mice, but more mechanistic studies are needed. Therefore, Japanese researchers evaluated the antidepressant effects of matcha powder in mice. This powder activates dopaminergic neural circuits and ameliorate depression in certain mice, depending on the animal’s previous mental state. More research like this could help develop better antidepressants.
Depression is now the most prevalent mental disorder in the world, and the number of people affected by it continues to grow. The onset of depression varies from person to person, but it is generally believed to be caused by a decrease in dopamine in the brain. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter and hormone, plays an important role in elevating mood, making people happy, giving them a sense of accomplishment, and motivating them. Also, various antidepressants have been developed to combat the effects of low dopamine, but these have many side effects.
Additionally, people can develop tolerance to antidepressants, requiring higher doses over time or changing medications more frequently. It gave impetus to the search for things. One such product, matcha, has been gaining popularity recently.derived from leaves Camellia sinensis—Rich in mood-uplifting compounds—matcha powder is traditionally used to make tea.
Matcha powder is a green powder made by grinding shade-grown tea leaves into a fine powder. A traditional Japanese tea that has been enjoyed for centuries, it is known for its bright green color, unique flavor and health benefits. The tea leaves used to make matcha are grown under special conditions that keep them out of direct sunlight for several weeks before harvesting. It can be obtained.
Consumption of this tea has been shown to ameliorate anxiety-like behavior in mice by activating dopamine function via dopamine D1 receptor signaling. The resulting dopamine boost may also improve symptoms of depression. bottom. They detail their findings in a paper published in Volume 15, Issue 3 of the journal. nutrients January 22, 2023.
The team used stress-tolerant BALB/c and stress-sensitive C57BL/6J mice exposed to social isolation stress for the experiments. However, oral administration of matcha suspension appeared to reduce the level of depression in stress-susceptible mice. TST) was shown by its performance. Dr. Kurauchi explains:
Dopaminergic neural circuitry and mental status in mice after social isolation stress influence the antidepressant effects of matcha. Credit: Yuki Kurauchi, Kumamoto University
How did that happen? The team dug deeper. Immunohistochemical analysis of mouse brains revealed activation of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) after ingestion of matcha suspension in stress-susceptible mice. These regions form an important part of dopaminergic circuits and are important for controlling dopamine levels in the brain. Their activation is indicated by an increase in the number of cells expressing c-Fos, an important indicator of neuronal activity, but it usually increases dopamine levels and enhances mood. found that not only the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the brain (which initiates dopaminergic activity), but also the PFC and NAc are rich in c-Fos-positive cells, with high neuronal activity and dopaminergic activity. In contrast, these effects were not seen in stress-tolerant mice.
This was reinforced by another finding that administering a dopamine D1 receptor blocker to stress-sensitive mice abolished the antidepressant effects of matcha suspension. “These results suggest that matcha powder exerts an antidepressant-like effect by activating the dopaminergic system in the brain, which is influenced by an individual’s mental state.”
Kurauchi is also optimistic about the future implications of their research. Differences in mental status should also be considered when evaluating individual antidepressants, given how sensitive stress-susceptible mice were to the effects of matcha suspension, whereas stress-tolerant mice were not. “Also, incorporating matcha into health promotion programs may improve its broader benefits,” he says.
Reference: “The antidepressant effect of matcha green tea through activation of the dopaminergic system in mice depends on social isolation stress” Yuki Kurauchi, Yuki Ohta, Keigo Matsuda, Wakana Sanematsu, Hari Prasad Devkota, Takahiro Seki, Katsuki Hiroshi, 22 January 2023, nutrients.
DOI: 10.3390/nu15030581
About Associate Professor Yuki Kurauchi
Dr. Yuki Kurauchi is an associate professor at the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University. He holds a PhD in Pharmacy and has authored over 100 research papers. His research focuses on the use of pharmacological approaches to treat central nervous system disorders. His specific research interests include behavioral analysis of anxiety patients, neurochemical underpinnings of stress induced by social hierarchies, and analysis of migraine pathogenesis.
